In orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) physical layer based communication systems, such as those based on 802.11 standards, some wireless local area network (WLAN) standards (e.g., 802.11ac) will provide support for simultaneous transmission of independent data streams to multiple receivers using multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) technology. Using MIMO technology, different data streams are embedded along different spatial directions in a single transmission, which is received and decoded by multiple receivers. A problem with such multi-user transmissions is interference, which reduces overall throughput in a network.
Accordingly, what is desired is a method and system for improving multi-user reception quality in a WLAN. The system and method should be easily implemented, cost effective, reliable, and should be adaptable to existing communications systems. Embodiments described herein address such a need.